The present invention relates to interconnections between electronic components and more particularly to optical interconnections between optoelectronic components.
Delays in electronic circuits have been reduced to a point where interconnect delays are becoming the limiting factor inhibiting yet further increases in speed. Capacitive coupling of traditional metallic interconnects is a major contributor to such delays. The capacitive/inductive coupling between metal lines can also cause substantial signal attenuation even for short metal runs, resulting in diminished signal margins and a concomitant decrease in reliability.
Optical interconnects in conjunction with higher speed optoelectronic technology have been proposed to overcome the limitations of electronic systems using metal interconnects. Such optical interconnect schemes include planar wave guides and optical fibers; see, for example, the paper entitled "Optical Interconnection Between Integrated Circuit Chips" by John A. Neff, Fifth Annual International Electronics Packaging Conference, Proceedings of the Technical Conference, 1985, pp.: 343-50, and the paper entitled "Overview of Optical Interconnections" by Fred J. Lemberger and Paul N. Marshall, Fifth Annual International Electronics Packaging Conference, Proceedings of the Technical Conference, 1985, pp.: 334-42. Although optical interconnect schemes have been proposed, there is a need for an effective way to construct optical interconnects on integrated circuits.